Day 11 – Surface Pro supports multi-user accounts, a BIG deal for schools
Teaching and Learning with a Windows 8 Tablet
3/22/2013
Welcome to Day 11 of working with a Microsoft Surface Pro Windows 8 tablet for educators. Today I will be discussing the importance of multi-user accounts for use in schools. Maybe not the most exciting topic, but a very practical one.
3/22/2013
Welcome to Day 11 of working with a Microsoft Surface Pro Windows 8 tablet for educators. Today I will be discussing the importance of multi-user accounts for use in schools. Maybe not the most exciting topic, but a very practical one.
One of the things that often gets overlooked in education circles is the need for multi-user account support for consumer level devices that are entering the schoolhouse. In the quest of searching for the latest and greatest gadgets many are enamored by BNSO disease (Bright New Shiny Objects). In far too many cases little thought is paid to the consequences and costs of supporting these devices and other BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) initiatives.
There will be increased costs, both in personnel and networking infrastructure. These costs are often overlooked from the initial excitement over the latest gadget craze that will “change everything”. As magical as it may seem, it is not magic, and there are no silver bullets.
Meanwhile back at the schoolhouse, IT departments have been scrambling to provide “free” wireless access for BNSOs that are showing up in schools, IT departments are doing their best at securing network resources and protecting private data that are increasingly being accessed via mobile devices. Mobile devices that are often not designed for the demanding needs of the enterprise.
Fortunately, the Surface Pro is an enterprise class machine, sporting the latest Windows 8 Professional operating system.
The Surface Pro does offer multi-user account access and also Active Directory support, This may be one of its more boring details, but an important one. The advantage of multi-user account capability is that it moves the paradigm from a device centric approach to a user centric approach.
It would be great if we could provide each and every student with a one-to-one device that they could call their own every hour of the day, but unfortunately, many school districts (or parents/guardians) are not in a financial position to buy individual devices costing hundreds of dollars for each child. This cost can quickly get out of hand if you have more than one school aged child to buy for. A more efficient solution is to buy fewer devices and “share” them throughout the day with multiple users on an as needed basis.
This of course means that several students could be using the same computer over the course of the day. Some device manufacturers ignore this fact and simply say the device they are selling is meant to be a personal device and not meant to be shared, washing their hands of the gritty implementation and support details. What happens to all those documents, pictures, videos, and passwords that are saved to a shared device over the course of a day?
Microsoft has experience in this realm and have incorporated multi-user account support into the Surface Pro. Hooray! This is a HUGE advantage for schools. This effectively means that you can have a cart or computer lab full of Surface Pros and students can login with their own special account to access resources customized for them on any supported device.
Another option is to setup the Surface Pro with a generic logon and use a group policy or special software that “resets” the Desktop environment upon reboot. This method has been used for years in computer lab environments and solves the issue of the machine getting cluttered with user documents over time. Another benefit with a reset is that any passwords that a user may have left logged in will also be cleared from the device (it happens more than you think).
Another HUGE benefit is that multi-user accounts can be setup for family members so others do not “mess” with the way you have your Surface Pro setup, or worse, access your email and documents. Have you ever handed your tablet to a child and got it back with all of you app icons rearranged? Ever wondered how many emails they accidently sent using your email account? I have, but not anymore.
Having a device with multiple accounts is also extremely helpful for teachers that are implementing the “Flip Classroom” model of instruction using screencasts. Having a special multi-user account setup that is used only for screencast creation prevents you from accidently recording personal information you may have stored on the Surface Pro. The Windows 8 Start Screen is beautiful, with all the multicolored “Live Tiles”, but recording your screen while emails are popping up is inadvisable. A separate account solves this potential problem.
There is one more elephant in the room that many schools and organizations are currently struggling with regarding the Surface Pro and the new Windows Store. How do you handle “Microsoft Accounts” that are required if you truly want to take advantage of all the Surface Pro (and other Windows 8 devices) have to offer?
Other tablet manufacturers also have their own vendor specific user accounts that are required to purchase apps. How should this be handled for children accounts? BYOD programs? Who pays? Who keeps track of all the passwords? Who owns the apps? Many companies have Terms of Service that require children to be 13 years of age or older before obtaining accounts. How do you manage this environment in a school setting?
I also am concerned with children becoming the marketing targets of multibillion dollar corporations trying to “brand” children at such an early age. Beware the educational technology testing complex. These are all new issues facing schools and parents/guardians. There is much to work to do. A cautious approach will be required to sort these things out and for now there are no easy answers. It is a brave new world indeed.
Until next time...
Keep on Learning,
Keep on Learning,
Tom Grissom, PhD
Follow me on Twitter @tomgrissom
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